BALTIMORE, MD (May
24, 2007) - Helping to protect Maryland’s
children from the potential dangers of the Internet, Attorney General
Douglas F. Gansler today launched his statewide Internet safety
initiative, “C.L.I.C.K.S.” - Community Leadership In
Cyber Knowledge and Safety. C.L.I.C.K.S. is an educational outreach
program designed to equip law enforcement and school officials
with the resources to teach students and parents about Internet
safety.

Held at Waverly Elementary
School in Ellicott City, Attorney General Gansler led a 30 minute
presentation created by the NetSmartz
Workshop, an interactive, educational safety resource developed
by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and
Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The fourth graders were introduced
to characters like “Nettie” and “Webster,” a
brother and sister team who teach them about “WizzyWigs,” the
characters that represent the possible dangers to children online.
From characters like “Hot Head,” who uses mean and
ugly language, to “Follow You Fiona,” who wants to
know personal information about you and your family, children learned
about the many dangers online and the rules to remember if they
are confronted with these dangers.

“The Internet provides endless benefits, but parents and
children must know how to protect themselves from the many dangers
that lurk in the anonymous world of the Web,” said Attorney
General Gansler. “By providing law enforcement, librarians
and teachers with free, user-friendly resources, we will be able
to spread the message of Internet safety to a much larger audience.”

Partnering with NetSmartz, Attorney General Gansler’s C.L.I.C.K.S. initiative
promotes safe and responsible use of the Internet and other technologies through “train-the-trainer” sessions.
Conducted by Internet safety experts, the sessions will be open to educators,
law enforcement and community leaders, who will be taught to lead presentations
to youth and other stakeholders. The NetSmartz presentations are tailored to
the attention span, maturity and interest of the audience.

The first “train-the-trainer” session
will be held on July 31st, 2007 at Howard High School in Ellicott
City. The
event will consist of two separate 90 minute training sessions,
one in the early afternoon and one in the evening.

In addition to partnering with NetSmartz, Attorney General Gansler
is working with Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland
State Police, Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task force,
Maryland PTA, Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, and University of Maryland
Educational Technology Outreach.